Your headphones' microphone matters. A lot. And yet we never know how we sound to others, or whether we're clear to our AI assistants! So from time to time, we like to grab a bunch of headphones and put their microphones through some tough real-world tests. This time, with the help of The Verge's John Higgins, we discover the best-sounding mic we've ever tested. And no, it's not on a pair of AirPods. Not even close. 0:00 - Intro 1:44 - 90 Seconds on The Verge 3:37 - Headphone mic test begins 7:31 - AirPods Pro 3 10:31 - EarFun Air Pro 4 Plus (~$80) 15:37 - Soundcore Liberty 5 Pro (~$170) 21:04 - Sennheiser Momentum 5 ($400) 25:31 - Why aren't headphone mics getting better? 29:10 - Wrap-up Subscribe: http://goo.gl/G5RXGs Like The Verge on Facebook: https://goo.gl/2P1aGc Follow on Twitter: https://goo.gl/XTWX61 Follow on Instagram: https://goo.gl/7ZeLv Watch The Vergecast on YouTube: https://bit.ly/40RFRkg The Vergecast Podcast: https://bit.ly/3WQDexZ Decoder with Nilay Patel: http://apple.co/3v29nDc More about our podcasts: https://www.theverge.com/podcasts Read More: http://www.theverge.com Community guidelines: http://bit.ly/2D0hlAv Wallpapers from The Verge: https://bit.ly/2xQXYJr Shop our Verge merch store here: https://bit.ly/4kPCmEc Subscribe to The Verge: https://bit.ly/3FT6n5S Subscribe to The Vergecast on YouTube, new episodes on Tuesday and Friday: https://bit.ly/3I6nJtz If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may receive a commission without exerting any influence on editorial content. For more information about our ethics policy, visit: https://bit.ly/3ZWTlLs